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They say that Diana chose Nevis as a hideout following her divorce from Prince Charles and as I wandered along the beach near my resort I could see why...

"Lionfish is the scourge of the Caribbean. It's eating our reefs, so we're eating it," says John Yearwood. He's the coowner of the Oualie Beach Resort - a beachfront hotel on Nevis, housed in a collection of charming gingerbread cottages - and became so concerned about the introduction of lionfish into the waters around Nevis that he organized a spear fishing tournament to rid the fragile reefs of the pest.

"The lionfish was accidentally introduced into the Caribbean, probably by the owners of exotic aquariums. This species belongs in the Indo-Pacific," says Yearwood, whose family has lived in the Caribbean since 1648, when it was thrown out of England during the civil war there. A former executive with the World Bank, Yearwood built the resort with family members on land that's within sight of St. Kitts, across the two-mile stretch of ocean called the Narrows.

"We started with six rooms and have built it up to 32," says Yearwood, who runs the resort with his sister and three brothers. "We bill ourselves as a 3.5-star resort because we want to exceed expectation." In fact, the rooms, with their four-poster mahogany beds, all crafted on the island, have the luxurious ambience that characterizes Nevis accommodations in general.

There has been a strong effort to make the resort environmentally benign, so solar panels are used to heat water.

But back to the lionfish. It's a poisonous creature with venomous spines. With no natural predators in the Caribbean, it's multiplying at an alarming rate and devastating coral reefs.

"When we recently held our first lionfish tournament, we gave prizes to the person who killed the most, and then we ate the fish. They're light and flaky and taste a bit like snapper," Yearwood said. The tally: 196 of the critters.

While it's served at the Oualie Beach, the resort is better known for its delicious conch chowder and Oualie crab cakes, served in a casual al fresco restaurant.

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